Kim scored takedowns with ease, easily transitioned to dominant ground positions, and kept a steady stream of ground and pound directed at Sadollah. In fact, after one such takedown, Kim successfully pinned one of Sadollah’s arms across his own neck and used the opening to pound his opponent with punches and forearm strikes to close out a dominant second round.

In the end, Kim took all three rounds for the 30-27 decision win.

The victory pushes Kim to 13-0-1 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. (A 2009 split-decision loss to Karo Parisyan was overturned to a no-contest when Parisyan failed a post-fight drug test.) Sadollah, who’s fought professionally only in the UFC, drops to 3-2.

In the co-featured bout of the night’s Spike TV broadcast, “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ winner Efrain Escudero successfully rebounded from his first career loss and an elbow injury – both of which were suffered to Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 20 – and steamrolled former training partner Dan Lauzon for a unanimous-decision victory.

Prior to the fight, Lauzon had a well-publicized falling out with fellow UFC fighter, training partner and brother Joe Lauzon, who accused his younger sibling of flaking out on his fight camp.

In an interview with MMAjunkie.com Radio prior to the fight, Escudero said he planned to play the role of enforcer and punish Lauzon if he did, in fact, enter the bout ill-prepared. As Escudero saw it, he’d rather beat down Lauzon and teach him a lesson about the rigors of fighting in the world’s top promotion instead of someone else.

Escudero, in fact, did just that.

After a close and fairly lackluster first round, Escudero took control in the second, began stalking his opponent, and did damage from the clinch with punches and knees. The damage continued in the third round and slowed only when Escudero connected on a pair of late-round low blows that forced Lauzon to his knees for a timeout. After the break and Escudero’s point deduction, the fighters closed out the fight with a wild flurry that left both competitors bloodied.

But it was too little too late for Lauzon, who suffered the unanimous-decision loss via scores of 29-27 on all three judges’ cards.

Escudero improves to 13-1 (3-1 UFC) with just his second decision win in 13 career victories. Lauzon, the youngest fighter ever to appear in the UFC, drops to 12-4 (0-3 UFC) and is 0-2 in his most recent UFC stint.

In a lightweight bout that surprisingly was left off the night’s broadcasts, Melvin Guillard again showed why he’s one of the sport’s most-prolific strikers and quickly stopped Thiago Tavares’ injury replacement and UFC newcomer, Waylon Lowe, with strikes.

Guillard, who faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts in his previous three fights, wanted a chance to stand and bang with an opponent. Lowe, though, wanted none of Guillard’s standup game and continually tried to take the fight to the mat. Unfortunately for “The Ultimate Fighter 9″ competitor, it’d prove to be his undoing as Guillard continually battered Lowe with knee strikes on the takedown attempts.

In fact, it was a final knee strike – one that landed viciously to Lowe’s chest – that sent him crashing to the mat in obvious pain. Guillard walked away from his downed opponent ready to celebrate the win, though referee Yves Lavigne hadn’t called an end to the fight. Guillard then followed with a pair of follow-up punches before the stoppage mercifully arrived at the 3:28 mark of the opening round.

Guillard (24-8-2 MMA, 7-4 UFC), who credits famed trainer Jackson for his maturation as both a fighter and person, now reenters the UFC’s lightweight title picture with five wins in his past six fights. And though he wants a title shot, he also has his eye on a fellow striker as a potential opponent.

“I bring the knees; I bring the pain,” Guillard said. “I’m ready for a title shot. First and foremost before a title shot, I want to fight Jeremy Stephens.”

In a battle of strikers, French kickboxer Cyrille Diabate picked up his 10th win in 11 fights and made a successful UFC debut with a first-round TKO of fellow light heavyweight Luiz Cane.

Diabate, though, was in trouble early and dropped with a left hook, and after regaining his wits, “The Snake” then was forced to break free of a guillotine choke. However, after returning to his feet, Cane then was forced to go on the defensive as his opponent fired off punches and kicks from all angles. A big right hand got through and dropped Cane to the mat, and Diabate followed with two additional punches before referee Herb Dean called a halt to the action at the 2:13 mark of the round.

Cane initially protested the stoppage, though the follow-up shots are what appeared to have awakened him from near-unconsciousness.

“Even though he’s a black belt in jiu jitsu, I know Luiz likes to stand and trade,” Diabate said. “He definitely rocked me, but I think that gave him a false sense of confidence because I was able to catch him right after that.”

Diabate (16-6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has now posted eight knockout victories among his 16 career wins. Cane (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), who also suffered a TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 106, now has back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

In a lightweight bout, 13-year veteran Aaron Riley continued a late-career surge with a hard-fought unanimous-decision victory over Joe Brammer.

The well-matched 155-pounders kept the fight standing for most of the 15-minute affair. Riley often proved quicker on the draw and used some late-fight takedowns to get the judges’ nod. Although all three of the officials scored the fight a shutout – 30-27 – for Riley, the bout was much closer than the cards otherwise indicated.

With the win, Riley (29-12-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is now 4-2 in his past six fights, and both losses come with an asterisk; a UFC 96 TKO defeat to Shane Nelson largely was panned as a premature stoppage (and later avenged by Riley), and his UFC 105 defeat to Ross Pearson was the result of cuts (not strikes) and a doctor’s stoppage.

“It really was important to get back on the winning track,” Riley said. “This is the best organization in the world, and I’m always looking to improve.”

Bammer, (7-2-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) a former Midwest Cage Championship title-holder who entered the UFC with an undefeated record, has now suffered back-to-back losses and likely is to receive his walking papers.

The night’s card opened with a bang when Jesse Forbes and Ryan Jensen collided in a quick but action-packed middleweight bout. The hands flew early, and Forbes connected first with a left that sent his opponent crashing to the mat. Jensen then was forced to fight off a rear-naked choke when Forbes followed him to the mat hunting for the submission.

Jensen, though, went from prey to predator after quickly returning to his feet, slapping on a guillotine choke, and pulling guard to torque the hold. Unable to break free of the choke, Forbes relented and tapped out to end the 66-second scrap.

It was a much-needed win for Jensen (15-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC), who entered the night with a meager 1-4 UFC record. Including a handful of fights in outside organizations, the Nebraskan is now 4-2 in his past six fights.

“I’ve been given my walking papers once before, and I know that I can get them at any time, but I’m here to stay this time,” Jensen said. “I was in a cloud when I got hit by that punch, but I was able to clear my head and get the guillotine.”

Forbes (11-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC), a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 3″ who went 11-2 in outside organizations to earn his way back to the UFC, has now suffered back-to-back losses and faces an uncertain future in the organization.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.